Katniss is alive thanks to the rebels from District 13 but Peeta was left behind. The revolution is well under way and they need someone to be the face of the rebellion and raise the sympathy of all districts - they need the mockingjay.

I really enjoyed [b:The Hunger Games|2767052|The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)|Suzanne Collins|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1358275334s/2767052.jpg|2792775] and it took me a long time to start [b:Catching Fire|6148028|Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)|Suzanne Collins|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1358273780s/6148028.jpg|6171458] because I thought there was no way it could be as good. I was wrong. Suzanne Collins created this incredibly believable dystopian world and the story unravels in such a way that I believed every single word. The arenas are especially well written. The way the story progresses depicts a real war: power-hungry people, too many weapons, too many deaths, broken families and traumatised souls. Since Peeta is missing, Prim takes his place as the voice of reason but even the purest people break down as fighting for human rights may destroy your beliefs in humans. Katniss is 17, she is confused, stubborn, whiny, frightened and lost, but she is alive because she closes the outside world. When that changes, she also breaks down because in a real war there there are no true winners, just survivors.

The end is bittersweet, yes. We wanted a happy ending that could never exist because one does not forget a war. It is already impressive that so many characters survived. But we learn that not forgetting matters, fighting for children matters, and that a good heart can speak to a closed mind. In the end, Katniss and I are convinced that her world may have become a better place. Peeta brings her back to life and gives her reasons to live. He is and has always been her warm Spring morning. Both broken and sort of healed, both willing to believe in a better tomorrow.